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Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Root Aphids

Well, it has now been 2 weeks since I tried to help it gain some strenght. At first, it was encouraging, because I could see new leaves starting to grow, but then, it started to go south again. :(

While some new leaves continued to grow, some of the already existing leaves started to look very unhealthy. They pointed down, even though there was no lack of water, nor was there too much of it. They started to get brownish. Now they are pretty much withering and falling off.
The new leaves are still growing, but they are quite fade in colour. The growth is also uneven from stem to stem.

After researching some more, it appears my poor little plant might have root aphids. :( That is a tiny little bug that lives at the root and gets all the nutrients before the plant can absorb them, resulting in stunted growth, unhealthy coloured foliage and premature loss of leaves. All the symptoms fit.

So I took it out of its pot to take a closer look and, sure enough, there's a colony of little crawlers in there. :( It's unclear to me how to treat this problem. I am also afraid that my other plants will get affected.

So after a good run with us, out it is for Emerald Gaity. Sorry little plant, I really tried...

That said, any advice is welcome! Does anyone know how to treat this issue? Better yet, how to avoid it?

About Me

I was born and raised in the beautiful French-Canadian province of Quebec. I moved to Denmark in 2010, where my husband and I bought our very first house. I like to try my hands at everything arts and crafts related, with a preference for painting and stone age crafts. I'm also quite interested in gardening, from houseplants to outdoor gardening, but am still very inexperienced at it and my success rate needs some improvement! I take life one day at a time and enjoy it immensely. I'm childhood educator by profession and currently doing a bachelor degree in social education in Denmark (and in Danish!), with a goal to work as special educator with babies, toddlers and preschoolers in the future.